Saturday, January 3, 2015

Bakery Review: Alexander's Patisserie

This is actually my second
visit to Alexander’s Patisserie but I didn’t write up the first time I went
because there was nothing to buy. Literally. Nothing. Unless I wanted fancy
coffee and I don’t drink coffee so that was a nonstarter. But on my first
visit, which was soon after Alexander’s opened, the shelves were empty. There
was a sign on the door that even explained there was nothing left. Imagine my
disbelief. Really? Really?? There were about 4-5 staff people who were standing
around and the operational person in me cringed at the lost sales, mismatch of
inventory to demand, bad customer experience, and every other cranky judgment I
could make when my sweet tooth has been thwarted.

Fortunately, the second visit
with my friends after our dinner at Doppio Zero bore more fruit. As in there
were baked goods in the display cases this time, mostly individual-size
classy-looking desserts, some bread products and macarons. That’s more like it.

Prices were a bit steep. As
Queen of Cheap Eats summarized, the prices would be fine if you were dining in
with some friends and chatting over a lemon tart or a chocolate orange thingie
but if you were buying it for take-home consumption without the social aspect,
it’s expensive.

Since we had just come from
dinner, we were too full to dine-in with a second dessert. I opted to buy a
lemon tart based on my friends’ recommendations and forked over the $6 to have
it boxed up in a classy Alexander’s to-go box. Based on the counter person’s direction, I wrapped it in plastic when I got home and put it in my
refrigerator since I wasn’t going to eat it until the next day. Also on his
recommendation, I let it come to room temperature before trying it.

As lemon tarts go, it was
pretty good. The custard was nicely tart and the crust shell was good. After a
rich dinner or during the summer, this would be a delicious treat to have.
Unfortunately for the tart and my wallet, I was inundated with desserts and
baking when I bought this so I only ate a third of it and couldn’t finish the
rest, even a day or two later. It was a relatively expensive taste test but I’m glad I at least got to try
it.

Alexander’s Patisserie fits
the bill if you’re looking for a patisserie or something that looks and tastes
high brow. I myself am more of a homey baker, literally and figuratively, so I
still prefer Icing on the Cake for my comfort baked goods.